# European Film Award for Best Screenwriter

The European Film Award for Best Screenwriter is an award given out at the annual European Film Awards to recognize a screenwriter who has delivered an outstanding screenplay in a film industry. The award is presented by the European Film Academy (EFA) and was first presented in 1988 to French director and screenwriter Louis Malle for Goodbye Children.
István Szabó, Agnès Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm, Ruben Östlund and Paweł Pawlikowski are the only writers who have received this award more than once, with two wins each.

## Winners and nominees
### 1980s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 1988 (1st) | Louis Malle | Goodbye Children | Au Revoir Les Enfants |
| 1988 (1st) | Manoel de Oliveira | The Cannibals | Os Canibais |
| 1988 (1st) | Terence Davies | Distant Voices, Still Lives | Distant Voices, Still Lives |
| 1988 (1st) | Daniele Luchetti Franco Bernini Angelo Pasquini | It's Happening Tomorrow | Domani accadrà |
| 1988 (1st) | Wolfgang Held | Bear Ye One Another's Burden | Einer trage des anderen Last |
| 1989 (2nd) | Mariya Khmelik | Little Vera | Ма́ленькая Ве́ра |
| 1989 (2nd) | Géza Bereményi | The Midas Touch | Eldorádó |
| 1989 (2nd) | Þráinn Bertelsson | Magnus | Magnus |
| 1989 (2nd) | Theodoros Angelopoulos Tonino Guerra Thanassis Valtinos | Landscape in the Mist | Topio stin omichli |
| 1989 (2nd) | Maciej Dejczer Cezary Harasimowicz | 300 Miles to Heaven | 300 mil do nieba |

### 1990s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 1990 (3rd) | Vitali Kanevsky | Freeze Die Come to Life | Замри, умри, воскресни |
| 1990 (3rd) | Ryszard Bugajski Janusz Dymek | Interrogation | Przesłuchanie |
| 1990 (3rd) | Etienne Glaser Madeleine Gustafsson Suzanne Osten | The Guardian Angel | Skyddsängeln |
| 1991 (4th) | Jaco Van Dormael | Toto the Hero | Toto le Héros |
| 1992 (5th) | István Szabó | Sweet Emma, Dear Böbe | Édes Emma, drága Böbe - vázlatok, aktok |
| 1993 (6th) | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1994 (7th) | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1995 (8th) | No award given | No award given | No award given |
| 1996 (9th) | Arif Aliev Sergei Bodrov Boris Giller | Prisoner of the Mountains | Кавказский пленник |
| 1997 (10th) | Chris Vander Stappen Alain Berliner | Ma Vie en Rose | Ma Vie en Rose |
| 1997 (10th) | Ademir Kenović Abdulah Sidran | The Perfect Circle | Savršeni krug |
| 1997 (10th) | Andrei Kurkov | A Friend of the Deceased | Priyatel pokoynika |
| 1998 (11th) | Peter Howitt | Sliding Doors | Sliding Doors |
| 1998 (11th) | Lars von Trier | The Idiots | Idioterne |
| 1998 (11th) | Alex van Warmerdam | Little Tony | Kleine Teun |
| 1998 (11th) | Jean-Pierre Bacri Agnès Jaoui | Same Old Song | On connaît la chanson |
| 1999 (12th) | István Szabó Israel Horovitz | Sunshine | Sunshine |
| 1999 (12th) | Saša Gedeon | The Idiot Returns | Návrat idiota |
| 1999 (12th) | Ayub Khan Din | East is East | East is East |

### 2000s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 2000 (13th) | Agnès Jaoui Jean-Pierre Bacri | The Taste of Others | Le goût des autres |
| 2000 (13th) | Rafael Azcona | Butterfly's Tongue | La lengua de las mariposas |
| 2000 (13th) | Wolfgang Kohlhaase | The Legend of Rita | Die Stille nach dem Schuß |
| 2000 (13th) | Nana Djordjadze Mariya Zvereva Irakli Kvirikadze | 27 Missing Kisses | 27 დაკარგული კოცნა |
| 2000 (13th) | Doriana Leondeff Silvio Soldini | Bread and Tulips | Pane e tulipani |
| 2000 (13th) | Dominik Moll Gilles Marchand | Harry, He's Here to Help | Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien |
| 2001 (14th) | Danis Tanović | No Man's Land | Ničija zemlja |
| 2001 (14th) | Laurent Cantet Robin Campillo | Time Out | L'Emploi du temps |
| 2001 (14th) | Michael Haneke | The Piano Teacher | Lla pianiste |
| 2001 (14th) | Achero Mañas | Pellet | El Bola |
| 2001 (14th) | Jean-Louis Milesi Robert Guédiguian | The Town Is Quiet | La ville est tranquille |
| 2001 (14th) | Ettore Scola Silvia Scola Giacomo Scarpelli Furio Scarpelli | Unfair Competition | Concorrenza sleale |
| 2002 (15th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Talk to Her | Hable con ella |
| 2002 (15th) | Jacques Audiard Tonino Benacquista | Read My Lips | Sur mes lèvres |
| 2002 (15th) | Paul Greengrass | Bloody Sunday | |
| 2002 (15th) | Aki Kaurismäki | The Man Without a Past | Mies vailla menneisyyttä |
| 2002 (15th) | Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Piesiewicz | Heaven | Heaven |
| 2002 (15th) | Paul Laverty | Sweet Sixteen | Sweet Sixteen |
| 2002 (15th) | François Ozon | 8 Women | 8 Femmes |
| 2003 (16th) | Bernd Lichtenberg | Good Bye, Lenin! | Comme une image |
| 2003 (16th) | Lars von Trier | Dogville | Dogville |
| 2003 (16th) | Sandro Petraglia Stefano Rulli | The Best of Youth | La meglio gioventù |
| 2003 (16th) | Hanif Kureishi | The Mother | The Mother |
| 2003 (16th) | Dušan Kovačević | The Professional | Професионалац |
| 2003 (16th) | Steven Knight | Dirty Pretty Things | Dirty Pretty Things |
| 2004 (17th) | Agnès Jaoui Jean-Pierre Bacri | Look at Me | Comme une image |
| 2004 (17th) | Paul Laverty | Just a Kiss | Ae Fond Kiss… |
| 2004 (17th) | Jean-Luc Godard | Our Music | Notre musique |
| 2004 (17th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Bad Education | La mala educación |
| 2004 (17th) | Alejandro Amenábar Mateo Gil | The Sea Inside | Mar adentro |
| 2004 (17th) | Fatih Akin | Head-On | Gegen die Wand / Duvara Karşı |
| 2005 (18th) | Hany Abu-Assad Bero Beyer | Paradise Now | الجنّة الآن |
| 2005 (18th) | Anders Thomas Jensen | Adam's Apples | Adams Æbler |
| 2005 (18th) | Anders Thomas Jensen | Brothers | Brødre |
| 2005 (18th) | Cristi Puiu Răzvan Rădulescu | The Death of Mr. Lazarescu | Moartea domnului Lăzărescu |
| 2005 (18th) | Dani Levy Holger Franke | Go for Zucker! | Alles auf Zucker! |
| 2005 (18th) | Michael Haneke | Hidden | Caché |
| 2005 (18th) | Mark O'Halloran | Adam & Paul | Adam & Paul |
| 2006 (19th) | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | The Lives of Others | Das Leben der Anderen |
| 2006 (19th) | Pedro Almodóvar | Volver | Volver |
| 2006 (19th) | Paul Laverty | The Wind That Shakes the Barley | |
| 2006 (19th) | Corneliu Porumboiu | 12:08 East of Bucharest | A fost sau n-a fost? |
| 2007 (20th) | Fatih Akin | The Edge of Heaven | Auf der anderen Seite |
| 2007 (20th) | Eran Kolirin | The Band's Visit | ביקור התזמורת |
| 2007 (20th) | Peter Morgan | The Queen | The Queen |
| 2007 (20th) | Cristian Mungiu | 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile |
| 2008 (21st) | Matteo Garrone Roberto Saviano Maurizio Braucci Ugo Chiti Gianni Di Gregorio Massimo Gaudioso | Gomorrah | Gomorra |
| 2008 (21st) | Ari Folman | Waltz with Bashir | ואלס עם באשיר |
| 2008 (21st) | Suha Arraf Eran Riklis | Lemon Tree | شجرة ليمون / עץ לימון |
| 2008 (21st) | Paolo Sorrentino | Il Divo | Il Divo |
| 2009 (22nd) | Michael Haneke | The White Ribbon | Das weiße Band |
| 2009 (22nd) | Jacques Audiard Thomas Bidegain | A Prophet | Un prophète |
| 2009 (22nd) | Simon Beaufoy | Slumdog Millionaire | Slumdog Millionaire |
| 2009 (22nd) | Gianni Di Gregorio | Mid-August Lunch | Pranzo di ferragosto |

### 2010s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 2010 (23rd) | Robert Harris Roman Polanski | The Ghost Writer | The Ghost Writer |
| 2010 (23rd) | Jorge Guerricaechevarría Daniel Monzón | Cell 211 | Celda 211 |
| 2010 (23rd) | Samuel Maoz | Lebanon | Lebanon |
| 2010 (23rd) | Radu Mihăileanu | The Concert | Le concert |
| 2011 (24th) | Jean-Pierre Dardenne Luc Dardenne | The Kid with a Bike | Le Gamin au vélo |
| 2011 (24th) | Anders Thomas Jensen | In a Better World | Hævnen |
| 2011 (24th) | Aki Kaurismäki | Le Havre | Le Havre |
| 2011 (24th) | Lars von Trier | Melancholia | Melancholia |
| 2012 (25th) | Tobias Lindholm Thomas Vinterberg | The Hunt | Jagten |
| 2012 (25th) | Cristian Mungiu | Beyond the Hills | După dealuri |
| 2012 (25th) | Michael Haneke | Amour | Amour |
| 2012 (25th) | Roman Polanski Yasmina Reza | Carnage | Carnage |
| 2012 (25th) | Olivier Nakache Éric Toledano | Untouchable | Intouchables |
| 2013 (26th) | François Ozon | In the House | Dans la maison |
| 2013 (26th) | Paolo Sorrentino Umberto Contarello | The Great Beauty | La grande bellezza |
| 2013 (26th) | Tom Stoppard | Anna Karenina | Anna Karenina |
| 2013 (26th) | Giuseppe Tornatore | The Best Offer | La migliore offerta |
| 2013 (26th) | Felix Van Groeningen Carl Joos | The Broken Circle Breakdown | The Broken Circle Breakdown |
| 2014 (27th) | Paweł Pawlikowski Rebecca Lenkiewicz | Ida | Ida |
| 2014 (27th) | Ebru Ceylan Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Winter Sleep | Kış Uykusu |
| 2014 (27th) | Jean-Pierre Dardenne Luc Dardenne | Two Days, One Night | Deux jours, une nuit |
| 2014 (27th) | Steven Knight | Locke | Locke |
| 2014 (27th) | Oleg Negin Andrey Zvyagintsev | Leviathan | Левиафан |
| 2015 (28th) | Yorgos Lanthimos Efthimis Filippou | The Lobster | The Lobster |
| 2015 (28th) | Radu Jude Florin Lazarescu | Aferim! | Aferim! |
| 2015 (28th) | Alex Garland | Ex Machina | Ex Machina |
| 2015 (28th) | Andrew Haigh | 45 Years | 45 Years |
| 2015 (28th) | Roy Andersson | A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence | En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron |
| 2015 (28th) | Paolo Sorrentino | Youth | Youth - La giovinezza |
| 2016 (28th) | Maren Ade | Toni Erdmann | Toni Erdmann |
| 2016 (28th) | Paul Laverty | I, Daniel Blake | I, Daniel Blake |
| 2016 (28th) | Emma Donoghue | Room | Room |
| 2016 (28th) | Cristian Mungiu | Graduation | Bacalaureat |
| 2016 (28th) | Tomasz Wasilewski | United States of Love | Zjednoczone stany milosci |
| 2017 (30th) | Ruben Östlund | The Square | The Square |
| 2017 (30th) | Ildikó Enyedi | On Body and Soul | Testről és lélekről |
| 2017 (30th) | Yorgos Lanthimos Efthimis Filippou | The Killing of a Sacred Deer | The Killing of a Sacred Deer |
| 2017 (30th) | Oleg Negin Andrey Zvyagintsev | Loveless | Nelyubov |
| 2017 (30th) | François Ozon | Frantz | Frantz |
| 2018 (31st) | Paweł Pawlikowski | Cold War | Zimna wojna |
| 2018 (31st) | Ali Abbasi Isabella Eklöf John Ajvide Lindqvist | Border | Gräns |
| 2018 (31st) | Matteo Garrone Ugo Chiti Massimo Gaudioso | Dogman | Dogman |
| 2018 (31st) | Gustav Möller Emil Nygaard Albertsen | The Guilty | Den skyldige |
| 2018 (31st) | Alice Rohrwacher | Happy as Lazzaro | Lazzaro felice |
| 2019 (32nd) | Céline Sciamma | Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Portrait de la jeune fille en feu |
| 2019 (32nd) | Pedro Almodóvar | Pain and Glory | Dolor y gloria |
| 2019 (32nd) | Marco Bellocchio Valia Santella Ludovica Rampoldi Francesco Piccolo Francesco La Licata | The Traitor | Il traditore |
| 2019 (32nd) | Ladj Ly Giordano Gederlini Alexis Manenti | Les Misérables | Les Misérables |
| 2019 (32nd) | / Roman Polanski Robert Harris | An Officer and a Spy | J'Accuse |

### 2020s

| Year | Winner and nominees | English title | Original title |
| 2020 (33rd) | Thomas Vinterberg Tobias Lindholm | Another Round | Druk |
| 2020 (33rd) | Martin Behnke Burhan Qurbani | Berlin Alexanderplatz | |
| 2020 (33rd) | Costa-Gavras | Adults in the Room | Ενήλικοι στην αίθουσα (Enílikoi stin aíthousa) |
| 2020 (33rd) | Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo | Bad Tales | Favolacce |
| 2020 (33rd) | Pietro Marcello Maurizio Braucci | Martin Eden | Martin Eden |
| 2020 (33rd) | Mateusz Pacewicz | Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało |
| 2021 (34th) | Florian Zeller Christopher Hampton | The Father | The Father |
| 2021 (34th) | Radu Jude | Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc |
| 2021 (34th) | Paolo Sorrentino | The Hand of God | È stata la mano di Dio |
| 2021 (34th) | Jasmila Žbanić | Quo Vadis, Aida? | Quo Vadis, Aida? |
| 2021 (34th) | / Joachim Trier Eskil Vogt | The Worst Person in the World | Verdens verste menneske |
| 2022 (35th) | Ruben Östlund | Triangle of Sadness | Triangle of Sadness |
| 2022 (35th) | Arnau Vilaró Carla Simón | Alcarràs | Alcarràs |
| 2022 (35th) | Kenneth Branagh | Belfast | Belfast |
| 2022 (35th) | Lukas Dhont Angelo Tijssens | Close | Close |
| 2022 (35th) | / Ali Abbasi Afshin Kamran Bahrami | Holy Spider | Holy Spider |
| 2023 (36th) | Arthur Harari Justine Triet | Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute |
| 2023 (36th) | Aki Kaurismäki | Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet |
| 2023 (36th) | Agnieszka Holland Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko Maciej Pisuk | Green Border | Zielona granica |
| 2023 (36th) | İlker Çatak Johannes Duncker | The Teachers' Lounge | Das Lehrerzimmer |
| 2023 (36th) | Jonathan Glazer | The Zone of Interest | The Zone of Interest |
| 2024 (37th) | Jacques Audiard | Emilia Pérez | Emilia Pérez |
| 2024 (37th) | Magnus von Horn Line Langebek | The Girl with the Needle | The Girl with the Needle |
| 2024 (37th) | Pedro Almodóvar | The Room Next Door | The Room Next Door |
| 2024 (37th) | Mohammad Rasoulof | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | The Seed of the Sacred Fig |
| 2024 (37th) | Coralie Fargeat | The Substance | The Substance |

## Most wins by screenwriter

| Screenwriter | Awards | Nominations |
| Jean-Pierre Bacri | 2 | 3 |
| Agnès Jaoui | 2 | 3 |
| Paweł Pawlikowski | 2 | 2 |
| István Szabó | 2 | 2 |
| Ruben Östlund | 2 | 2 |
| Tobias Lindholm | 2 | 2 |
| Thomas Vinterberg | 2 | 2 |
| Pedro Almodóvar | 1 | 5 |
| Michael Haneke | 1 | 4 |
| Jacques Audiard | 1 | 3 |
| François Ozon | 1 | 3 |
| Dardenne brothers | 1 | 2 |
| Roman Polanski | 1 | 2 |
| Fatih Akin | 1 | 2 |
| Ugo Chiti | 1 | 2 |
| Efthimis Filippou | 1 | 2 |
| Matteo Garrone | 1 | 2 |
| Massimo Gaudioso | 1 | 2 |
| Yorgos Lanthimos | 1 | 2 |
| Paolo Sorrentino | 0 | 4 |
| Paul Laverty | 0 | 4 |
| Anders Thomas Jensen | 0 | 3 |
| Aki Kaurismäki | 0 | 3 |
| Cristian Mungiu | 0 | 3 |
| Lars von Trier | 0 | 3 |
| / Ali Abbasi | 0 | 2 |
| Maurizio Braucci | 0 | 2 |
| Gianni Di Gregorio | 0 | 2 |
| Robert Harris | 0 | 2 |
| Radu Jude | 0 | 2 |
| Steven Knight | 0 | 2 |
| Oleg Negin | 0 | 2 |
| Andrey Zvyagintsev | 0 | 2 |